Yazbec, Olga (PhD)Dedo, Ahmed2018-07-092023-11-092018-07-092023-11-092010-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/7279Dundes (1965) and Adams (1973) suggest that folklore validates and maintains conformity or control in or over the society and educates certain aspects of culture and justifies its rituals and institutions, and shows the manner of thinking, mode of life, and attitudes of the society. Hence, the major goal of this study was examining the images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs. To achieve this goal an attempt was made to collect and analyze folktales, folksongs and proverbs from two districts in east Arsi zone. The data were collected through interviewing people from the study area, using focused group discussions, making observations of the discussions and also using already documented folktales, folksongs and proverbs. The study revealed that images of women in Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have been portrayed both positively and negatively and that images of women in all the three genres were highly distorted though some positive images also existed. Regarding the positive images of women, some of the Arsi Oromo folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented some groups of women, for example, wives as faithful, honest and loving; mothers as fair and thoughtful; and female beings in general as wise and problem-solving. There are also some positive representations of women that are manifested only in the proverbs. These are the portrayal of women in general as cautious and suspicious beings; wives and girls as indispensable persons; and mothers as generous. However, the largest parts of the collected folktales, folksongs and proverbs have represented women in a negative and distorted manner. These include the representations of women in general as shameless, selfish and greedy, trouble makers and evil-minded, stupid, and as inferior to men in every aspect; and in particular, wives as unfaithful and adulterous, and step-mothers and co-wives as cruel and jealous. Moreover, some negative representations of women were observed only in the sample proverbs. They include the depiction of women generally as liars, pretenders, deceivers, submissive, quiet and weak, unintelligent, and careless and unreliable, on the one hand, and wives as disagreeable and disobedient, on the other. The other point found out was that images of women in the three genres vary. That is, some positive and negative representations of women exist only in the proverbs but not in the folktales and folksongs. In general, the over all result revealed that the deep-rooted attitude of the patriarchal society that attempted to establish the superiority of men and subordination of women in its oral literature. Regarding the organization of this study, it is made up of four chapters. The first chapter deals with the introductory part of the study which includes the background, statement of the problem, the objectives, the significance, the scope, the methodology and the definition of some important terms of the study. In the second chapter relevant literature is reviewed and also the socio-cultural background of the Arsi Oromo is presented. The third chapter includes the analysis of the folktales, folksongs and proverbs collected from the study area. In the fourth chapter an effort was made to provide a conclusion based on the discussions of the foregoing chapters.enfolktalesThesis